Prithu Baskota will lead the Nepal Under-17 national team in the upcoming ACC U-17 Elite Cup cricket tournament this February in Kathmandu, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) said on Monday.
CAN named the 14-member squad on Monday, a day earlier than originally scheduled after only 14 in the training camp were declared of eligible age by the Asian Cricket Council. On Sunday, the ACC wrote to CAN reporting four players among those 18 in the camp as over-age.
Four among 18 cricketers in the closed-camp training were found overage by ACC. Those found overage are allrounder Ujjwal Thapa from Kathmandu, left arm pacer Sahnawaz Ali from Birgunj, Kathmandu´s Pawan Shrestha and Bhairahawa´s batsman Nirmal Thapa.
ACC had allowed players upto 16 years and four months for the event. The news has affected Nepal´s preparation for the home event as CAN had earlier found only 18 players from those who played in the U-17 national league of right age. CAN had sent the report of all 18 players in the camp to ACC.
The announced team include Pradeep Airee, Sagar Pun, Rochak Bhatta, Nischal Singh Chaudhary, Bibek Dali, Kriten Gurung, Bhuwan Karki, Krishna Karki, Abinash Karn, Ayush Rana, Amandeep Singh, Pratik Singh and Akash Singh Pariyar.
Roy Luke Dias will be coach-cum-manager while Manjoor Ali Khan will be his assistant.
The event is beginning on February 4 with matches scheduled for TU Cricket Ground, Institute of Engineering Ground Pulchowk and the Birendra Sainik Awasiya Mahavidhyalaya (BSAM) Ground in Bhaktapur.
Nepal will play league matches against Qatar (Feb 4), Saudi Arabia (Feb 5), Singapore (Feb 7), and Hong Kong (Feb 8). The semi-finals are scheduled for February 11, and the final is set for February 13.
Remaining teams are Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE and Malaysia.